NHL
Some wins are masterpieces. Others look like they were sketched on a napkin five minutes before tip-off.
Thursday night in Columbus? Definitely the latter. And the Blue Jackets will take it every single time.
Despite stretches of sloppy play and a Rangers team playing with nothing to lose, the Columbus Blue Jackets extended their point streak to 11 games with a 6-3 win at Nationwide Arena. It wasn’t clean. It wasn’t perfect. But it was exactly what good teams do in March. They win anyway.
And right now, Columbus is playing like a team that knows exactly who it is.
The game opened with the kind of energy you’d expect from a Rangers team coming off a rough loss and sitting at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. No structure, just vibes and speed.
That chaos paid off early.
Vincent Trocheck struck first on a short-handed breakaway, picking Zach Werenski’s pocket at the blue line before sliding one five-hole past Jet Greaves. Just like that, the Rangers had a 1-0 lead and the building had that brief “uh oh” murmur.
But Columbus didn’t flinch.
Isac Lundestrom tied things up late in the first with a slick wrist shot off a clever Boone Jenner setup, and from there, the Jackets started leaning into their depth. Conor Garland gave them the lead minutes later in one of those “how did that even go in?” sequences, with the puck pinballing off bodies before finding the back of the net.
That first period felt like a preview: messy, unpredictable, and tilted just enough in Columbus’ favor.
The second period started with the Rangers reminding everyone they still have skill.
Mika Zibanejad tied the game 2-2 on a clean rush finish, snapping one past Greaves with the kind of effortless release that makes you wonder how this team isn’t better than its record.
But every time New York showed life, Columbus had an answer.
Boone Jenner reclaimed the lead just over two minutes later, cleaning up his own rebound like a veteran who’s seen every version of this script before. That goal felt different. Less chaotic, more inevitable.
Then came the moment that shifted the night from “tight game” to “Columbus control.”
Adam Fantilli, continuing his emergence as one of the league’s most dangerous young forwards, redirected a Werenski point shot on the power play to make it 4-2. It was quick, instinctive, and surgical, the kind of play that doesn’t just show talent, it shows confidence.
And confidence is contagious.
If there was going to be a comeback, it needed to start early in the third. And for about 50 seconds, it looked like we might get one.
Alexis Lafreniere tipped home a power-play goal to cut the lead to 4-3, injecting just enough tension into the building to make things interesting again.
But here’s the difference between these two teams right now:
The Rangers score and hope it sparks something.
The Blue Jackets score and expect it to continue.
Damon Severson restored the two-goal cushion midway through the third, finishing off a rebound after a Cole Sillinger drive. It wasn’t flashy, but it was decisive. That was the moment the game quietly ended, even if the clock hadn’t caught up yet.
Fantilli added an empty-netter late to seal the 6-3 final, putting a bow on a night that felt bigger than just two points.
Adam Fantilli: Arrival in Real Time
Two goals, including the dagger, and a constant presence around the net. Fantilli now sits at 21 goals on the season, and more importantly, he looks like a player who’s figuring it out in real time. The timing, the positioning, the confidence, it’s all leveling up.
He’s not just scoring anymore. He’s impacting games.
Zach Werenski: Quietly Historic
Three assists, bringing him to 72 points in 61 games. That ties him with Artemi Panarin for one of the best offensive seasons in Blue Jackets history.
Let’s be clear. This isn’t just a good year for a defenseman. This is elite production, period.
Werenski controlled the pace from the blue line all night, even when things got messy. Every dangerous Columbus sequence seemed to run through him.
Boone Jenner: The Engine
A goal and an assist don’t fully capture Jenner’s impact. He set the tone physically, created space, and delivered in key moments. When Columbus needed stability, he provided it.
Every good team has that guy. Jenner is that guy.
The game had a few swings, but the real shift came with Fantilli’s power-play goal late in the second.
At 3-2, it’s a coin flip.
At 4-2, it’s a different conversation.
That goal didn’t just extend the lead, it forced the Rangers to chase. And when this Columbus team has a lead, they’re comfortable turning games into controlled chaos, something they’ve clearly mastered during this 11-game run.
This wasn’t just another win. It was a standings statement.
With the victory, Columbus moves into third place in the Metropolitan Division, tied in points with the Islanders but holding a game in hand. That’s not just playoff positioning, that’s leverage.
And maybe more importantly, it reinforces something that’s becoming harder to ignore:
This team is resilient.
They didn’t dominate. They didn’t play their cleanest game. Their coach even admitted as much. But they still found a way to win by three goals.
That’s not luck. That’s identity.
Meanwhile, the Rangers continue to spiral. Three straight losses, last place in the East, and flashes of talent that never seem to connect for long enough to matter.
After the game, Fantilli summed it up perfectly: not every game is going to be a masterpiece.
Columbus didn’t paint a Picasso on Thursday night. It was more like controlled chaos with a finishing touch.
But if this streak has proven anything, it’s that the Blue Jackets don’t need perfect.
They just need enough.
And right now, “enough” looks a lot like a playoff team nobody wants to see.
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